teacher training
Want to become a Pilates teacher ?
Are you a matwork teacher already and want to teach equipment?
Matwork Course
Do you want to train to become a Pilates Foundation Matwork Teacher?
The Bodywise Matwork Teacher-Training programme leads to certification as a Pilates Foundation Matwork Teacher. It is a one-year course involving over 500 hours of study time. The course runs every Friday from 2:30 - 6pm, as well as one full weekend every month (11 weekends in total). In addition to these taught lectures and classes (totalling over 250 hours), students will also be required to log at least 250 hours of self-study and self-practice during the course, including:
- a minimum of 50 hours of attending Pilates classes (self-practice)
- a minimum of 50 hours of supervised teaching practice, observation, and assisting qualified teachers
- a minimum of 150 hours of self-study (including a 10-week case study with a volunteer, homework tasks, reading and revision)
The next course starts In May 2024. Final exams will take place in May 2025, involving a 3-hour theory paper and a 1-hour practical exam.
The cost of the course is £3,750 if paid in in full advance, or £4,125 when paid in 11 monthly instalments of £375 per month. Course fees include all lectures and classes, the Pilates Foundation Matwork Manual, and the one-day Emergency First Aid at Work course (EFAW). Course fees do not include PF membership, student insurance, examination fees, or books and other equipment.
Course content
· The history and development of the Pilates method, and Pilates principles and fundamentals
· Pilates repertory, both classical and evolved (with adaptations, creative variations, “Pre-Pilates” repertory, and the use of small equipment)
· Natural movement / functional movement patterns
· Human anatomy / physiology and basic biomechanics
· Static and dynamic postural analysis
· Pilates class planning / objectives
· Teaching methodology
· Manual (“hands-on”) facilitation and the use of imagery to enhance somatic understanding
· Injury / pathology, remedial applications and rehabilitation (overview)
· Pre- and post-natal Pilates (overview)
· Complimentary therapies, referral, and self-care as a teacher
· One-day Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW)
Pre-requisites / Course entrance requirements
Applicants should ideally have at least one year of experience attending Pilates classes (50 hours minimum), or at least 6 months of experience with a Pilates Foundation teacher (25 hours minimum). The more familiarity you have with the Pilates method, the better! Applicants with less experience may also be considered, based on their other experience. Applicants will be expected to submit our application form along with their CV before the deadline, and may then be invited to attend a 1-hour 1-1 class and a 30-minute interview with Leila. Applicants must demonstrate a serious commitment to the course, as it involves a great deal of hard work. You must be highly motivated in order to complete the necessary self-study at home, and to achieve the high standard required by the Pilates Foundation.
While the Pilates Foundation sets criteria for the final assessment of trainees (and provides external examiners for practical exams and marking of coursework), each accredited Teacher Training Provider is free to teach the Pilates Method in their own individual way, encouraging a more creative and less formulaic approach than that offered by other Pilates organisations. The Pilates Foundation is the 'gold standard' in Pilates training, but we all teach Pilates and movement in a very different way and we are proud of this diversity. So the best way to select the right course for you is to meet the course director, and to attend classes at the studio, to see whether our particular approach will suit you. Whilst we do teach the Classical repertory in depth, we also focus on functional movement, Pre-Pilates / evolved and creative Pilates exercises, and other movement forms. Enrolling on this teacher-training course is a significant commitment, but it can lead to a rich, varied and highly rewarding career.
For more detailed information about the course or for an application form, please contact Bodywise Pilates.
Review:
"I completed my Matwork training at Bodywise in 2019 and would highly recommend Leila as a Pilates teacher trainer. I came from a design background with no anatomy or teaching experience and was a little nervous about how much I needed to learn. Leila is brilliant, she imparts her knowledge in a thorough but fun way. She has high standards and will challenge you, but ultimately you will qualify understanding a lot more about Pilates and anatomy than perhaps with other training routes. The back-up of the Bodywise studio is also a real asset, learning to teach real clients in-person is a huge skill and the staff are all very supportive."
Charlotte Moorley
Bridging (Apparatus) Teacher-Training
Bodywise offers a "Bridging" Course, which allows already-qualified Matwork teachers to learn to teach on all of the large apparatus (equipment) and involves over 750 additional hours of training. It is called Bridging because it "bridges" the gap between being a Matwork teacher and being a fully comprehensive teacher of the Pilates Method in its entirety. Many teacher-training courses are modular so they do not cover all of the pieces of apparatus (or they only cover it at a certain level), and therefore students need to sign up to numerous additional courses in order to gain a rounded experience and be ready to teach any potential client. Our courses are accredited by the Pilates Foundation, and all PF-accredited courses are fully comprehensive - meaning that they cover all of the apparatus at all levels in an integrated way. You will gain all of the knowledge and skills you need to be a fantastic teacher, without the need to attend additional modules (in order to learn additional skills like how to work on a remedial basis, with clients with medical conditions or disabilities, with older clients, or with high-level clients / athletes). We do not separate one piece of apparatus from another - you will graduate with fully embodied knowledge and experience of the whole body of work. Of course, that doesn't mean you won't want to continue learning more and more as a movement teacher, through Continual Professional Development courses (CPD is a condition of being a Pilates Foundation member, to ensure that everyone's knowledge stays up-to-date).
While the Pilates Foundation sets criteria for the final assessment of trainees (and provides external examiners for practical exams and marking of coursework), each accredited Teacher Training Provider is free to teach the Pilates Method in their own individual way, encouraging a more creative and less formulaic approach than that offered by other Pilates organisations. The Pilates Foundation is the 'gold standard' in Pilates training, but we all teach Pilates and movement in a very different way and we are proud of this diversity. So the best way to select the right course for you is to meet the course director, and to observe and/or attend classes at the studio, to see whether our particular approach will suit you.
Applicants are usually fully qualified Pilates Foundation Matwork teachers, ideally with at least one year of experience teaching Matwork. Applicants must also have at least 50 hours of experience on the apparatus (group classes or 1-1s, preferably some experience of both, ideally with various different teachers). More experience is often a distinct advantage, and some people apply for the course despite already holding a teaching qualification with another organisation. Applicants who are not personally known to the Course Director will be invited to attend a discussion and 1-1 class, once their application form has been received. If the Course Director is not familiar with the applicant's teaching, part of the initial assessment will involve observing the applicant teach matwork for 20 minutes as well. All interested applicants must speak to us in advance to confirm their interest in applying for a place (there are a maximum of 6 places available). Applications will also be considered from Matwork teachers who are not Pilates Foundation members, but they will need to demonstrate a commitment to achieving the high standards set by the Pilates Foundation.
The next course will start in September 2022. The taught element of the course runs over 14 weekends (over an 18-month period). The cost is £4,125 if paid in 11 x monthly installments of £375 (or £4,275 if paid in 20 x monthly instalments of £195 + £375 deposit), or £3,750 if one payment is made in advance (or £375 deposit and £3375 beofre start of course). Please do register your interest with us well in advance, so that we can interview you and start the course as soon as there are enough successful applicants to run it. Students will take different amounts of time to complete the required number of logged hours (depending on their other commitments) but you can take as long as you need to log your practical hours and complete all of the necessary course work before sitting the final exams. You must have completed 2 x 10-week Case Studies, at least 100 hours of practical training (attending apparatus classes), 200 hours of self-study, and a minimum of 250 hours of observing and assisting qualified studio teachers. Although all areas of anatomy and theory will be reviewed, this course is practically-oriented.